What's New Robert L. Park 16 Sep 2011

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L Park   Friday, 16 Sep 11   Washington, DC

1. WI-FI REFUGE:  UNITED STATES NATIONAL RADIO QUIET ZONE.
A 34,000 km2 rectangle of land straddling the border of Virginia and West 
Virginia surrounds The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the world's 
largest fully steerable radio telescope.  The site was chosen partly 
because the Allegheny Mountains block the horizontal propagation of radio 
signals, but mostly because Robert C Byrd (D-WV) was one powerful US 
Senator.  Radio transmission in the zone is either limited or banned 
outright.  In addition to radio astronomers, the quiet zone has also 
attracted a colony of people who say they suffer from Electromagnetic 
Hypersensitivity (EHS).  They certainly suffer from something, but EHS is 
not medically recognized in the US.  In a BBC News interview last week I 
suggested that the appropriate treatment for a non-ailment such as EHS 
would be homeopathic medicine.  

2. DEEP SPACE:  ENERGY BILL LEAVES OUT PLUTONIUM-238.
In a move that could end deep space exploration, congressional budget 
cutters left off the $15 million needed to restart the production of Pu-
238.  Pu-238 is not bomb stuff; it's a non-fissile isotope used to supply 
heat for thermoelectric generators (RTGs).  With no moving parts, RTGs are 
one of the simplest and most reliable technologies ever devised.  They 
generate electrical power to operate long-duration space missions too 
distant from the Sun for solar panels. Let's see, that will cut a $300 
billion budget by 0.0005%. Well, it's a start. 

NOTICE: I HELD THIS ISSUE UNTIL 9/18/2011 SO I COULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.

3. TAX WAR: OBAMA IS EXPECTED TO CALL FOR "THE BUFFET RULE."
The New York Times says that on Monday President Obama will call for a new